Los Angeles Times: “Women are behind the most successful uprisings.” Learn why!

By Yifat Susskind

We will remember 2019 as a year of uprisings. In over a dozen countries on five continents, people have risen up to confront economic inequality and even the most repressive governments. These mobilizations are answering the question of how to tackle ascendant right-wing authoritarianism — and women have been at the heart of it all.

In part, that’s because women know well the consequences of living under these draconian governments. Far-right politicians and groups have repeatedly sought to win political support by promising to keep women in their place. In the lead-up to their elections, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro touted his opposition to a law imposing penalties for gender-motivated killings, and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte crassly joked about possibly participating in a gang rape.

Right-wing forces promote a toxic brand of masculinity that defines manhood through violence and aggression, promising men a slice of patriarchal power in exchange for backing authoritarian rule. They relegate women to silence and submission and force LGBTIQ people into hiding. They have targeted female human rights activists who defy patriarchal norms with harassment, criminalization and even murder. Click here to read more!